#art analysis

Hi. This is an essay about some artworks I saw and how they caused me to look more sympathetically towards abstract painting (which is a movement I didn’t previously care for that much.)

Also planning to attach the personal website I made recently to it once I’ve cleaned up some of the test pages there. I’ll be posting early snippets of articles I am writing for it on my tumblr blog before they go out on my website.

[Cildo Meireles, "Babel", 2001; installation made of old radios]

Holy blog revival batman. Anyways I went to the Tate Modern again and I’m gonna make it everyone else’s problem.

(Lots of pictures ahead!!)

I could genuinely talk about the art book for hours so I'm going to try and stay on track because if I don't I will just talk about the entire book lol

Firstly I just want to say that I really like the formatting for the book I really like that before you get introduced to the character you can see a very pretty like drawing of their aesthetic at least in the game they all kind of look the same but look different for each cookie at the same time eg:

But immediately after that intro card you get to see some art relating to the cookie on that page from their beast yeast episodes

Shockingly enough mystic flower cookie is probably my favorite part of this book! Mystic flower cookie is my least favorite of all the beast cookies. Which (they're all my favorite) so her being my least favorite is still her being one of my favorites just comparatively lower on the totem pole.

The art that they show off for mystic flower cookie looks just GORGEOUS! It's actually probably my favorite art section that is featured.

Whenever I talk about the art book I always show it off because I think her art is the most visually impressive.

The backgrounds for her episodes have always been just so beautiful and it's something that I've always really admired while playing the game but getting to see it on paper and then seeing someone who worked on it talk about it so lovingly was really cool.

In cookie run kingdom there are backgrounds for each of the beast yeast episodes. Each of the backgrounds are just stunning and do exactly what they need to do for world building .

I think that in game while I'm going through the episodes sometimes I don't pay attention to the backgrounds-

So slowing down and just looking at them on paper without all the buttons for all the stages and just getting to see a clear full image, was really nice.

Also in the art book there's a bunch of concept art for the backgrounds and designs from when they were developing the episode stages and it's always my favorite part.

I already showed pictures of mystic flower cookies art- but I'm gonna show some of burning spice cookies and whoever else is I really liked

Also I am going to use this as a segway-

They put SO much detail into eternal sugar cookies concept art, it's genuinely crazy.

With the other cookies backgrounds and concept art they show the drawings with little messages beneath them. BUT with eternal sugar cookies it looks more like someone's studying notes for art class more than it does just a segment of art.

because on each drawing- and I mean this so literally- on each drawing no matter how big and no matter how small, there's always little notes talking about the design choices for things.

It ranges from stuff as big as the sun canonically being made out of candy and apparently it gets sticky when it becomes in contact with sugar dust, to stuff as small as parasitic flowers, or cordyceps existing in the garden.

They put so much effort into every little detail for all of the cookies, I mean with mystic flower cookie we get notes on all sorts of background stuff! But I think it's most noticeable with eternal sugar cookies concept art.

They talk about it so much and just seeing all of the little stuff that I might not get to see while just playing the game or just looking at the background art online it's really nice to see the intention behind the things we get to see in game ,and the effort put into it, and seeing the the notes from the people that actually worked on it, and seeing all the stuff that they really like about it, and all the stuff that they had to say!

That's all I'm going to talk about for now since I'm not allowed to put any more images onto this post lmao

I have no idea how big this is going to be so my apologies if there's a lot to read- but thank you for reading all of that !!

I'll probably make a part two (even if no one is interested) at some point but if anyone has anything specific they want to see in the art book or anything specific they want to hear my opinions on regarding the art book please let me know!

(Also my posting may be a bit slower since I am both sick and starting up school again so have some mercy I beg of you 🙏)

So just today I found this really symbolic fanart and I thought I may as well analyse it to practice my art history skills and just cause it’s interesting content as well.

So I found this really interesting due to the obvious Last Supper reference, Henry is portrayed as Christ through the halo around his head which makes sense since he is the leader of their group and the orchestrator of the holy ritual that the group carries out.

Consequentially, the other characters are portrayed as his disciples, seeing as they all look up to him and go along with his plans. The chiaroscuro on Henry’s face could reflect how on the one hand Henry is seen as intelligent and admirable, while on the other Henry has a darker, more sinister side.

The pattern of the knives on the farthest sides and the forks one step inwards, and finally the two of them held by Henry in the centre generates a sense of symmetry, reflecting the calculated nature of Henry’s plot. Moreover, there is a line across the hands of the other characters and two circles on Francis’ hand suggesting screws, likening these characters to puppets and suggesting they are all pawns in Henry’s plan.

Even the bunny rabbit in the centre has a robotic eye, representing Bunny, who is sacrificed in their holy ritual in the book just as he is during this sacred meal in the artwork.

Public Figure (2001) - Do Ho Suh

Look downwards, the definition of what a pedestal tries to achieve has been turned upside down. Suh’s art piece: Public Figure, manipulates our sense of where power (our gaze) is directed. The large, white pedestal stands unassuming, whilst it is held up by numerous unnamed individuals. The absence of a sculptural centrepiece (as most are atop a pedestal) creates an immediate sense of confusion, before one’s gaze is downturned. His artwork portrays “shared human effort” alongside a heavy focus on the pedestal’s presence being overshadowed by the very people holding it upright. This illustrates an “anti-monument”, a display of social unity, described as “from the bottom-up” over an actual main focal point (a large statue atop a pedestal, etc).

References:

(2024). In Artnet.com. https://www.artnet.com/artists/do-ho-suh/

Do Ho Suh: Public Figures. (n.d.). In National Museum of Asian Art. Retrieved August 9, 2026, from https://asia.si.edu/whats-on/exhibitions/public-figures/

Magazine, S., & Soong, K. (n.d.). Take a Closer Look at a Surprising New Sculpture That Rethinks Who We Put on a Pedestal. In Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved August 9, 2026, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/take-a-closer-look-at-a-surprising-new-sculpture-that-rethinks-who-we-put-on-a-pedestal-180984243/

Negative Sculpture (2026) – Micheal Heizer

Dirt, gallery floors, walls, Micheal Heizer manipulates these spaces through purposeful absence. Utilising the importance of the void, Heizer’s sculptural works draw focus to the non-existent, to the space where something previously was. The presence of the surrounding material (gallery floor as displayed by negative sculpture) is of equal importance, begging the viewer to answer his question: is the tangible or intangible more important. The large scale of his works enables viewers to spatially engage (walk through) his pieces, emphasising the importance of displacement, of whats missing. Allowing them to experience how absence has created a new experience (the ability to walk through the gallery floor, not simply on it). Heizer drew considerable attention to the void, as a means of sculptural creation.

References:

Michael Heizer: Negative Sculpture, West 21st Street, New York, February 10–March 28, 2026. (2026). In Gagosian. https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2026/michael-heizer-negative-sculpture/

The Floating Piers (2014 – 2016) – Christo and Jeanne-Claude

This artwork was created as a cultural phenomenon. To enable the audience an otherworldly experience, to walk on water and cross over to nearby islands. The art piece itself is ingrained in nature, not simply a pathway, but something almost alive. It moves in the wind, its shape moves with the lake’s currents. Whilst not intended to be inherently symbolic, the piece is representative of life. How the currents of life will move us without warning, yet we will always make it to our intended destination. The materials utilised in the process, were also all recycled after the pieces short, 16-day exhibit. A depiction that life is not always stagnant, what can be will be, for the time period it is needed for.

References:

Christo and Jeanne-Claude. (n.d.). In christojeanneclaude.net. Retrieved August 9, 2026, from https://christojeanneclaude.net/artworks/the-floating-piers/

Visit Lake Iseo. (n.d.). In Visit Lake Iseo. Retrieved August 9, 2026, from https://visitlakeiseo.info/en/arts-and-culure/the-floating-piers/

A world adrift (2023) – Jason deCaires Taylor  

A world adrift is a series of underwater sculptures. This specific expansion of underwater space takes a peculiar form, moulds of boats and young children at the bottom of the ocean. The complete opposite function of a boat. Taylor aimed to convey the disturbing effects of climate change through the vulnerability of children. Many write the art pieces depict “uncertain futures” these futures unknown as climate change continues to raise sea levels and heat oceans. The sinking boats are reminiscent of the sinking islands, being utterly consumed by the ocean at an alarming pace. In a sense, his artwork is an indirect portrayal of absence. The absence of an island, of hope and of a future.

References:

Schattner, G. (2024, December 5). Best of 2024: Top 10 Art Installations Featured on My Modern Met. Gillie and Marc®. https://gillieandmarc.com/blogs/news/best-of-2024-top-10-art-installations-featured-on-my-modern-met?srsltid=AfmBOooUmCl-Cmm7ug62Fj0YY1FSt6xnKgMjhhkMs4li0aWRwrANQP85